Buying and Selling

Record of Death: How to remove a deceased person from a QLD property title

Losing someone is hard enough without paperwork piling on top. So if you’ve just realised your home, investment property or holiday place still has a loved one’s name on the title, take a breath – this is a normal, very fixable thing, and you’re not the first person to deal with it.

Here’s the plain-English version of how it works in Queensland, what we’ll need from you, and why it’s worth tidying up sooner rather than later.

The short version: If you owned a Queensland property with someone who has passed away, their name doesn’t come off the title automatically. If you owned it as joint tenants, removing them is usually quick and done electronically – it’s called a Request to Record Death, and all we need is the death certificate, a quick ID check and a bit of paperwork. If you owned it as tenants in common (or they were the only owner), it’s a bigger job that can involve the will and probate. Either way, you don’t have to be selling to sort it out – and it’s cleaner to do it now.

What is a “record of death” on a property title?

When someone passes away, their name stays on the property title until someone actively removes it. The title doesn’t update itself. A “record of death” is simply the official step that updates the Queensland Titles Registry to reflect that one of the owners has died – so the title shows who legally owns the property now.

It’s a bit like updating the rego after you sell a car. Nothing changes on paper until someone catches the paperwork up.

First, work out how the property is owned

Before anything else, we need to know how the property was owned. There are two ways two or more people can own property together in Queensland, and they’re treated very differently when someone dies.

Joint tenants means everyone owns the whole property together. If one owner dies, their share automatically passes to the surviving owner – this is called the “right of survivorship.” Couples usually own this way.

Tenants in common means each person owns a set share (say 50/50, or 70/30). When one owner dies, their share doesn’t pass to the other owner automatically – it goes to whoever they’ve left it to in their will. Siblings, friends and business partners often own this way. If you want the full breakdown, we’ve written a separate guide on joint tenants vs tenants in common.

The good news? The way you own it is noted right on the title search, next to the owners’ names. If you’re not sure, we’ll check it for you in minutes.

The simple path: removing a deceased joint tenant

If the property was held as joint tenants, you’re in the easy lane. We lodge a Request to Record Death electronically with the Titles Registry, and once it’s registered, the surviving owner becomes the sole owner of the property. No court application, no waiting on probate.

To get it done, we’ll need three things from you:

  • The original death certificate (or an original certified copy) – the official one from Births, Deaths and Marriages, not the funeral home notice
  • A quick verification of your identity, which we can do in our office or online
  • A bit of standard paperwork, which can also be done online or in person

That’s genuinely it. Once we have those, we handle the lodgement and keep you updated.

When it’s not joint tenants

If the property was held as tenants in common, or the person who passed was the only owner, it’s a more involved process. Their share has to go to their estate first, which usually means we need to see the will and may need to wait on a Grant of Probate before the title can be dealt with. This is the transmission application path, and it ties into the broader job of administering the estate.

This is squarely in our wheelhouse too – our wills and estates team handles probate, letters of administration and estate work across Queensland, so it can all be looked after under one roof.

Do I have to do this even if I’m not selling?

Short answer: yes, eventually – and it’s smarter to do it now. A lot of people only discover the title is out of date when they go to sell and the whole thing grinds to a halt. Sorting the record of death while there’s no deadline hanging over you means no settlement stress later. If selling is on the cards, here’s our guide to selling a QLD property with a deceased on title.

What it costs and how long it takes

For a straightforward joint tenants matter, this is an affordable, fixed-fee job, plus the usual title search and registration outlays. We’ll give you a clear quote up front – no surprises. Timing-wise, once we have the death certificate and your ID sorted, a joint tenants record of death is usually a quick turnaround. Tenants in common or estate matters take longer because of the probate step.

Want it sorted? Give the team a call on 07 3088 7675 (Monday to Friday, 9:00am – 5:00pm) or get in touch here. We’ll let you know exactly what’s involved for your situation.

Frequently asked questions about record of death in QLD

What is a record of death on a property title in Queensland?

It’s the official step that updates the Queensland Titles Registry to remove a deceased owner from a property title. If the property was held as joint tenants, it’s done with a Request to Record Death, and the surviving owner becomes the sole owner once it’s registered.

How do I remove a deceased person’s name from a property title in QLD?

If you owned the property as joint tenants, we lodge a Request to Record Death electronically with the Titles Registry. We’ll need the original death certificate, a verification of your identity, and some standard paperwork. Once it’s registered, the title is in the surviving owner’s name alone.

Does a deceased owner’s name come off the title automatically?

No. Even with the right of survivorship for joint tenants, the title doesn’t update on its own – someone has to lodge the paperwork to record the death and remove the name.

What if the property was owned as tenants in common?

Then the deceased’s share passes to their estate, not the other owner. This usually requires the will and a Grant of Probate, and is handled through a transmission application. Our wills and estates team can manage the whole process.

Do I need to remove the deceased from the title if I’m not selling?

You don’t have to do it the day someone passes, but it will need to be done eventually. It’s much cleaner to sort it now rather than discovering an out-of-date title mid-sale, which can delay settlement.

What documents do I need to record a death on a QLD title?

The original death certificate (or an original certified copy from Births, Deaths and Marriages), a verification of your identity, and some standard paperwork our office provides.

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Buying at ORO Newstead? What to check before you sign

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ORO is Italian for gold. It is a confident name for a building, and on the evidence the confidence is mostly earned: Longland Street, Carr on the architecture, an Italian retail precinct going in alongside it, and a Brisbane family developer with two completed projects behind them.

Newstead has earned some of that confidence too. Brisbane unit values rose 15.4 per cent over the year to the June quarter of 2026, and inner-city riverside suburbs have been at the front of it.

None of which tells you what is in the contract. If you have been through the display suite and you are holding one, this is what to work through before you put your name on it.

TL;DR

ORO Newstead is a residential and retail project at 75 Longland Street by Panettiere Developments, with architecture and interiors by Carr and the Little Italy retail precinct alongside. Buying off the plan means committing today to something that does not exist yet, and settling one to three years from now. The contract, not the render, is the only description of what you are actually buying, and it also sets out what the developer can change without asking you. The sunset date, the variation clause, the deposit arrangements, the body corporate disclosure and your finance condition are the five things worth paying a lawyer to read before you sign, not after.

Gold, and Little Italy

The name is not decoration. Panettiere Developments are building ORO alongside Little Italy, a retail precinct that leans on a real piece of Brisbane history: the Italian families who came here after the war and put cafes, delicatessens and fruit shops through New Farm, Teneriffe, the Valley and Newstead. Newstead was a working riverside suburb near the industrial heart of the city, which is exactly why they settled here.

It is a genuinely good story, and the project is built to trade on it.

What is being built at 75 Longland Street

ORO Newstead is a mixed-use residential and retail development by Panettiere Developments, the Brisbane family building business behind River Park Central in the CBD and NERO Newstead.

Architecture and interiors are by Carr, the Melbourne studio founded in 1971 by Sue Carr AM. Residences run from apartments through sub-penthouses to penthouses, with rooftop amenity including a pool, bar, barbecue and private dining, and Club ORO downstairs holding a gym, indoor pool and sauna.

For pricing, availability and floor plans, go to oronewstead.com.au or speak to the sales team. We are not the selling agent. What we do is read the contract.

Where Brisbane apartments sit right now

Domain’s House Price Report for the June quarter 2026 puts the Brisbane median unit price at $790,087, up 15.4 per cent ($105,274) over the year. Brisbane houses reached a record median of $1.21 million in the same quarter, extending a growth cycle now running thirteen consecutive quarters.

Two things follow for an off-the-plan buyer, and they pull in opposite directions.

The first is that inner Brisbane has been a good place to own an apartment, and Newstead sits in the part of it people actually want to live in: Gasworks, James Street, the river, a short run into the CBD.

The second is that you are not buying at today’s median. You are agreeing today to a price that gets tested by a bank’s valuer in one to three years, on a building nobody has walked through yet. Growth to date is not a forecast, and no contract clause converts it into one. That is why the finance condition is worth specific advice before you sign rather than after.

Why off the plan is a different transaction

With an established apartment you walk through the property, you search the title, and you settle in about six weeks. Off the plan, none of that exists yet.

What you get instead is a contract, a disclosure statement, a set of plans and a folder of renders. Those documents are the only description of what you are buying, and they also set out what the developer can change without coming back to you. Settlement might be one, two or three years away.

That gap is where buyers get caught. Here is what to look at.

The sunset date, and who gets to use it

Every off-the-plan contract carries a sunset date: the long-stop date by which the building has to be finished, the plan registered and the contract settled. If that date passes, the contract can be brought to an end.

The question is not just what the date is. It is who can trigger it, on what grounds, and what happens to your deposit if they do. Depending on the drafting it can be the developer who walks away rather than you. It is the first thing we look for.

What the developer can change

Renders sell apartments. They are not the contract.

Most off-the-plan contracts reserve the developer a right to vary the plans, specifications, finishes and sometimes the layout. The word usually used is “minor”. How “minor” is defined in your contract is what actually matters, because it can cover a good deal more than a change of tapware. Room dimensions, ceiling heights, balcony sizes, outlook, the finish schedule and common property can all sit inside that definition.

We read the variation clause and tell you in writing how much latitude the developer has reserved, and what you can do if the finished apartment is not what you were sold.

Finance, and the valuation gap at settlement

This is the one that catches people, and it is a timing problem rather than a contract defect.

You arrange finance on today’s numbers. You settle years later, on the bank’s valuation of the finished apartment at that time. If that valuation lands under the price you agreed, the shortfall is yours to cover in cash. Understanding that risk before you sign, and structuring your finance condition and deposit accordingly, is the point of getting advice early.

Where your deposit sits

On a purchase in this bracket the deposit is significant money, and it will be tied up for a long time. Understand where it is held, whether that is a trust account, a bank guarantee or a deposit bond, and what circumstances put it at risk.

A deposit parked for two or three years in a project that does not complete is a very different proposition to a deposit on an established home you settle on in six weeks.

The body corporate you are joining before it exists

Buy into an established building and you can inspect the body corporate records: the levies, the sinking fund, the minutes, the disputes. Buy off the plan and none of that history exists. You are relying entirely on the disclosure statement the seller has to give you for a proposed lot.

That document should tell you the expected levies, the proposed by-laws, the lot entitlements and any agreements the developer has already locked in that you will inherit, in particular the caretaking and building management arrangements, which can run for years after the developer has moved on. In a building with the amenity ORO is proposing, a pool, a gym, a sauna and rooftop facilities all carry running costs that land on the schedule of levies.

The disclosure needs reading properly, and the numbers in it need checking against what you were told in the display suite.

The name you buy in

If you are buying through a company, a trust or a self-managed super fund, settle that before the contract is dated. Changing the buyer entity after signing can be treated as a fresh transaction and attract transfer duty a second time. On a purchase at this level that is not a small correction.

It is a five-minute conversation before you sign and an expensive problem afterwards.

Foreign buyers, FIRB and additional duty

If you or a co-buyer is not an Australian citizen or permanent resident, two things change. You may need Foreign Investment Review Board approval, which has to be built into the contract conditions and takes time. And additional foreign acquirer duty applies on top of ordinary transfer duty, which changes your total cost materially.

Both are manageable. Neither is something to discover after you have signed.

Flood and the Newstead riverfront

Newstead is a former industrial riverside suburb, and parts of inner Brisbane along the river carry flood, overland flow or storm tide considerations. This matters at two levels for a new apartment: the site itself, and the insurance and levy position the body corporate carries once the building is running.

Do not assume the standard contract terms sort this out after the fact. The answer is checking it upfront. We run flood mapping as part of our free pre-contract reporting, so you go in knowing.

We are independent, and we do not pay kickbacks

We act for buyers. We do not act for the developer on this project, and we never act for both the buyer and the seller in the same transaction.

We also do not pay referral fees and we do not accept them, not from agents, not from brokers, not from developers. It matters because advice you are given about a developer’s contract should not have a commission sitting behind it.

Getting the contract reviewed

The whole value of legal advice on an off-the-plan purchase is that it arrives while you can still act on it. After you sign, your position is fixed and we are simply administering a contract someone else wrote.

Send us the contract and the disclosure pack. We will read it, come back to you in writing in plain English, and tell you what we would push back on. If you decide to go ahead, we run the matter through to settlement, however long the build takes.

Get in touch with our team or call 07 3088 7675.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a solicitor to buy off the plan at ORO Newstead?

You are not legally required to have one before you sign, but we would not recommend signing without a review. Off-the-plan contracts are long, drafted by the developer’s lawyers, and carry risks a standard residential contract does not. In Queensland, conveyancing must be handled by a solicitor or law firm. There are no licensed conveyancers in Queensland.

When should I get the contract reviewed?

Before you sign. Everything worth negotiating in an off-the-plan contract is negotiated before signature. Once the contract is dated your position is fixed, and a review afterwards can only tell you what you have already agreed to.

What is a sunset clause and why does it matter at a project like ORO?

A sunset clause sets the long-stop date by which the development has to be finished and the contract settled. If that date passes, the contract can be terminated. Depending on the drafting it may be the developer who can end it rather than you, so it matters who can trigger it, on what grounds, and what happens to your deposit. We review this as part of pre-contract advice.

Can the developer change the apartment after I sign?

Usually to some degree, yes. Most off-the-plan contracts reserve a right to make variations to plans, specifications and finishes. How far that right extends depends entirely on how the clause is worded in your contract, which is why it needs to be read before you commit rather than after.

How long does settlement take on an off-the-plan purchase?

There is no fixed date. Settlement is tied to the build finishing and the plan being registered with the Queensland Titles Registry, which can be one to three years after signing. Once registration happens, settlement typically follows within a few weeks. We stay on your file across the whole period.

What happens if the bank values the apartment below what I paid?

You cover the shortfall in cash at settlement. Because you arrange finance years before you settle, a valuation gap is a real risk on any off-the-plan purchase, and it is one of the main reasons to get advice on your finance condition before signing rather than at settlement, when it is too late to restructure anything.

Do you act for the developer at ORO Newstead?

No. We act for buyers only, and we never act for both sides of the same transaction. We also do not pay or accept referral fees from agents, brokers or developers.

What does it cost to have an off-the-plan contract reviewed?

It depends on the contract. The developer, the length of the disclosure pack and how quickly you need it back all affect the work involved. Call 07 3088 7675 or email info@empirelegal.com.au with a copy of the contract and we will come back with a fixed quote and a turnaround.

Wrapping up

ORO Newstead is a serious project from a developer with a track record in the suburb, and Newstead is about as good a bet as inner Brisbane offers. That is the case for buying, and it is a real one.

The case for getting advice first is separate, and it is not about the project. Every off-the-plan contract in Queensland is drafted by the developer’s lawyers to protect the developer, and every one of them is negotiable only in the window before you sign. Know your sunset date. Know what the developer can change. Know what your deposit is exposed to, what the levies will be, and how your finance holds up if the valuation comes in light. Then sign.

Empire Legal is a Queensland property law firm acting for buyers and sellers across Brisbane, Bayside and the Gold Coast. Fixed fees, no referral kickbacks, and a 5.0 rating from 3,053 Google reviews. If you have a contract for ORO Newstead or any other Brisbane off-the-plan project, get in touch.

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How to Find Out Who Owns a Property in Queensland

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Quick answer: Yes, you can. The Queensland land register is public and anyone can search it without giving a reason. A current title search costs $25.71 and names the registered owner. You can search by street address, by lot on plan, or by the owner’s name. What you will not get is an address or a phone number, and there is no free way to see an owner’s name in Queensland.

Here is how to actually do it, what it costs, and the part most people get wrong at the end.

Can you find out who owns a property in Queensland?

Yes, and you do not need a reason.

Section 35 of the Land Title Act 1994 says a person may, on payment of the fee, search and obtain a copy of the indefeasible title of a lot. There is no eligibility test, no requirement to explain why you want it, and no need to be involved in a transaction. Neighbours, journalists, researchers, prospective buyers and the merely curious all have the same right of access.

That is a deliberate feature of the Torrens system. The register only works as a public record of ownership if the public can actually read it.

How do you find out who owns a property in QLD?

Three routes, depending on what you are starting with.

If you have the street address. Order a current title search using an address search. Titles Queensland’s own portal, OTIS, has one, as do the approved search distributors. This is the normal path and it takes a couple of minutes.

If you have the lot on plan or title reference. Go straight to the search. This is the cleanest route because it removes any ambiguity about which parcel you mean.

If you only have the address and want to check the parcel first. Use Queensland Globe, which is free, to convert the address into a lot on plan. This matters more than it sounds for units and townhouses, where a street address can sit across a footprint lot, common property and individual lots within a building format plan. Getting the parcel right before you pay is worth the extra minute.

One current caveat: Titles Queensland published an alert in April 2026 about address searches in OTIS returning affected results for newly created lots entered after 18 April 2026. If the property is in a brand new subdivision, search by lot on plan instead.

Can you search by owner name in Queensland?

Yes. This surprises people, including plenty of people in the industry.

The Queensland titles registry supports name searches, and the easiest public route to one is through an approved search distributor. CITEC Confirm, which is a Queensland Government commercialised business unit, lets you search by surname and given name with wildcards and returns a list of matching titles. InfoTrack offers the same for professional accounts, and its consumer arm sells an ownership search directly to the public. Titles Queensland can also run a bespoke investigative search of the register, charged by the hour.

You can tell the name search exists because the Queensland Government says so when explaining how to hide from it. Its guidance on suppression directions states that an approved application removes a person’s details from “name searches in the Titles Registry”.

But understand the limits before you rely on it. A name search matches the name as recorded on the register. It will miss property held through a company or a trust the person controls, property registered under a former or differently spelled name, and anything covered by a suppression direction. It is a name-matching tool, not an asset-tracing tool, and a nil result does not prove somebody owns nothing.

Is there a free way to find out who owns a property?

No, and this is where most searches stall.

Queensland Globe is genuinely free and genuinely useful. It will give you the lot on plan, the property area, the local government area, the real property description and the land valuation. What it will not give you, anywhere, is a name. Owner details are not among the fields it displays, and there is no name search option in it.

The same is true across the free government tools. There is no legitimate free source of a Queensland registered owner’s name. Free gets you to the parcel. The name costs $25.71.

If you find a site offering free owner details, be careful about what you are actually being sold and where the data came from.

What it costs

A current title search is $25.71 through Titles Queensland and returns in seconds. For the full fee list, the difference between a current and a historical search, and what each one includes, see our guide to the Queensland title search.

What does the search actually tell you about the owner?

A name. That is it.

A Queensland current title search shows the registered owner’s name and the tenancy, so you will see whether co-owners hold as joint tenants or tenants in common, and the shares if they are tenants in common. Under section 28 of the Land Title Act, the register records the name of the person who holds a registered interest. Names, not addresses.

There is no postal address, no email, no phone number. So “I will just write to the owner” does not follow from a title search the way people assume it will.

It also tells you about the registered legal owner and nobody else. Not the occupier. Not the tenant. Not the beneficial owner behind a trust. If you are checking a landlord, the registered owner and the lessor named on your lease can legitimately be different people.

Two sections worth reading before you draw conclusions. Unregistered dealings shows instruments lodged but not yet registered, so a property that has already sold can still show the old owner. Administrative advices can show a priority notice, which usually means a transaction is underway.

What if the owner is a company, deceased, or a trustee?

A company. The title gives you the company name. From there, an ASIC company extract gives you the directors, the registered office and the shareholders. The same distributors sell it.

A deceased owner. The title can still show a deceased person’s name until a transmission by death is registered, or until a death is recorded against a joint tenancy. On a historical search you will often see a “TRANS DEATH” dealing. If you are dealing with a deceased estate, the current title search is the right starting point because it tells you how the person held the interest, which decides what happens next.

A trustee. The registered owner is the trustee, not the beneficiaries. A title search will not tell you who benefits from a trust, and there is no public register that will.

How do you find previous owners of a property?

A historical title search ($37.88) shows the interests registered against the title since Queensland’s Automated Titles System began in 1994.

To go back further you need an image of the pre-1994 paper certificate of title ($25.71). Image quality varies depending on the age and condition of the original when it was scanned.

A useful shortcut: look at the title reference. References starting with 1, 2 or 3 are pre-1994 paper titles that have since been imaged. References starting with 5 or higher are computer titles created since 1994 and fully covered by a historical search.

Titles Queensland’s own guidance is that establishing ownership at a particular point in time often needs a combination of products, typically a historical search plus the imaged paper title. For research going back beyond the registry’s imaged holdings, Queensland State Archives holds the older land tenure and land title office records.

What can you legally do with the information?

This is the section nobody writes, and it is the one that matters if you are searching for a commercial reason.

The register is open, but what you do with a name you took off it is regulated in three separate places.

The Property Data Code of Conduct. This is Queensland-specific and has been in force since 2009. Under it, using personal identification information, meaning names and service addresses, for unsolicited direct marketing by mail, telephone or other means is expressly prohibited. Owners can apply to have their details suppressed from information brokers’ databases and can complain to the Code’s oversight committee.

Australian Privacy Principle 7. The OAIC’s guidance is almost written for this situation. Publicly available personal information can be used for marketing only with consent or where consent is impracticable, and the recipient must be given an easy way to opt out. The OAIC expressly includes mail, hand-delivered material and door-to-door marketing. It also warns that some public registers carry their own restrictions and tells businesses to check with the relevant body, naming state land title offices.

The Do Not Call Register Act and the Spam Act, which cover the phone call, the email and the SMS that often follow.

The practical translation: pulling owner names off the register to letterbox-drop or doorknock potential off-market vendors runs straight into a Queensland industry code that prohibits exactly that. Look it up before you build a campaign on it.

What if you cannot find the owner?

Consider that they may have taken steps not to be found.

Under section 188 of the Land Valuation Act 2010, the Valuer-General can grant a suppression direction where there is a risk to someone’s safety, expressly including harassment, stalking or other threats to personal security. A preference for privacy on its own is not enough, and applicants have to make a statutory declaration and are encouraged to provide supporting evidence such as police reports or domestic violence orders. A direction lasts five years and is renewable.

Where one is granted, the person’s name and address are removed from public land valuation rolls, from name searches in the Titles Registry, and from state and local government land records open to public inspection.

So a nil or partial name search result does not necessarily mean nothing is owned. It may mean someone has a serious reason to be invisible, and working around that is not something we would help with.

A word of caution

A title search tells you who is registered as the legal owner. It is not due diligence and it never was.

Contamination, flooding, planning and zoning, transport and resumption proposals, tree and fence orders, and building approval history all sit on different registers, and a search of the title will not touch any of them. We have set out what a Queensland title search shows and misses separately, and if you are actually buying, that is the more useful read.

Buying in Queensland and want the searches done properly? See our fixed fees or get in touch.

Frequently asked questions

Can I find out who owns a property for free in Queensland?

No. Queensland Globe is free and will give you the lot on plan, the area and the land valuation, but it does not display owner names and has no name search. There is no free public source of a Queensland owner’s name.

Can you search property by owner name in Queensland?

Yes. The titles registry supports name searches, most easily accessed through an approved search distributor. It matches the name as it appears on the register, so it will miss property held through companies or trusts, or under a different spelling.

Does a Queensland title search show the owner’s address?

No. It shows the owner’s name and the tenancy. There is no postal address, email or phone number on a current title search.

How do I find out who owned a property before?

Order a historical title search ($37.88) for dealings since 1994, and an image of the pre-1994 paper certificate of title ($25.71) to go back further. Title references starting with 1, 2 or 3 are pre-1994 titles.

Can I use the owner’s name to contact them about buying their property?

Be careful. The Queensland Property Data Code of Conduct prohibits using names and service addresses taken from this data for unsolicited direct marketing by mail, phone or other means, and Australian Privacy Principle 7 covers mail and door-to-door marketing. Get advice before running any campaign built on register data.

Why can’t I find the owner in a name search?

Possible reasons include the property being held by a company or trust, a different or former name on the register, a spelling variation, or a suppression direction granted on safety grounds.

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Queensland Title Search: What It Shows and What It Misses

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Quick answer: A Queensland title search costs $25.71, returns in seconds, and tells you who owns the land and every interest registered over it. It does not tell you where your boundary is, whether someone holds a lease of three years or less, whether an easement was left off the register, or whether the land tax and council rates are paid. Those last four bind you anyway.

Most buyers treat the title search as a clean bill of health. It is not. It is a very reliable answer to a fairly narrow question, and the trouble starts when people assume the question was broader than it was.

Here is exactly what is on it, and exactly what is not.

What is a Queensland title search?

Queensland keeps a freehold land register under the Land Title Act 1994. The record for your block is its indefeasible title, and a current title search is a snapshot of that record at the moment you ask for it. Registry operations are run by Titles Queensland, though the Registrar of Titles remains a statutory office.

Two products matter. A current title search ($25.71) shows the position today. A historical title search ($37.88) shows dealings registered since the automated system began in 1994. Both are statutory fees, they are not subject to GST, and they index every 1 July.

What appears on a Queensland title search?

Every current search has the same sections, in the same order.

Registered owner. Names, dealing number, and the tenancy. There is a trap worth knowing here: under section 56 of the Land Title Act, if the transfer does not specify how co-owners hold the property, Queensland’s statutory default is tenants in common, not joint tenants. Most people assume the reverse, and the difference decides what happens to the share when one owner dies.

Estate and land. Usually “Estate in Fee Simple”, then the lot on plan description, then the local government area.

Easements, encumbrances and interests. Mortgages, easements, leases, caveats, writs of execution, building management statements, statutory covenants and Crown reservations. Note the warning printed at the foot of every search: charges do not necessarily appear in order of priority.

Administrative advices. A separate section, and not the same thing as an encumbrance. This is where a contaminated land notation, a State heritage listing, an owner-builder permit, a vegetation notice or a notice of intention to resume will sit. Most buyers skip it. Do not.

Unregistered dealings. Instruments lodged but not yet registered. Often “NIL”, and always worth a look when it is not.

Two Queensland quirks in that list. A writ of execution does not bind registered land until it is registered, and then only if it is executed and put into force within six months of lodgement. And Queensland only registers a statutory covenant where the covenantee is the State, a State entity or a local government, so private restrictive covenants do not work here the way they do in some other states.

What people wrongly assume is missing

Four things do appear, and buyers regularly either pay for a search they did not need or walk straight past a notation sitting in front of them.

  • Contaminated Land Register entries do appear, as “CONTAM LAND”. The Environmental Management Register does not, and the EMR is the one that catches properties with a service station or dry cleaner in their history. Different register, separate search.
  • State heritage listings do appear, as “HERITAGE SITE”. Local heritage listing under a council planning scheme does not.
  • A formal notice of intention to resume does appear, as “NOTC INT RES”. An earlier-stage transport corridor or land requirement does not, and needs a separate Transport and Main Roads property search.
  • Vegetation management and restoration notices do appear. The underlying regulated vegetation mapping does not.

What does a Queensland title search not show?

This is the list that costs people money.

Where your boundary is. You get a lot on a plan. No dimensions, no bearings, no area, and nothing at all about whether the fence, retaining wall or eaves are where they should be. The survey plan is a separate $27.56 product, and even that is a legal record rather than proof of what is physically on the ground. Only an identification survey by a cadastral surveyor answers that question.

A lease of three years or less. Section 185 of the Land Title Act makes a short lease an exception to indefeasibility. Note the Queensland wording: three years or less, and unlike New South Wales there is no requirement that the tenant be in possession. Someone can hold a tenancy you cannot see, and it binds you.

An easement left off the register. Section 185 again. An easement whose particulars were omitted or misdescribed still binds you. A clean encumbrances section is not proof there is no easement, which is the best reason to read our guide to encumbrances on a Queensland title before you sign.

Unpaid land tax. Section 60 of the Land Tax Act 2010 makes unpaid land tax a first charge on the land, ranking ahead of every other encumbrance whether registered or not, and expressly despite the indefeasibility provisions of the Land Title Act. You are protected only by obtaining a land tax clearance certificate.

Overdue council rates. Section 95 of the Local Government Act 2009 makes overdue rates a charge on the land automatically. The council may register that charge. It is not required to.

Flooding. Not on the title, and not required in the seller’s Form 2 disclosure either. Council flood mapping is your only source.

The rest of the search pack. Building and development approvals, unapproved structures, QCAT tree orders, pool safety compliance, unpaid body corporate levies, EMR status. None of it is on the title.

Does the Form 2 seller disclosure cover the gaps?

Partly, and the way it is drafted makes the point better than we can.

Since 1 August 2025 the Property Law Act 2023 has required a seller to give a Form 2 disclosure statement before the buyer signs, together with a set of prescribed certificates. A title search is prescribed certificate number one.

The regulation then requires the seller to disclose, in their own words, precisely the things the title search cannot tell you: unregistered encumbrances, zoning, EMR and CLR status, tree orders, transport infrastructure notices, heritage, resumption notices, pool safety, rates and water charges. The regime is effectively a legislative admission that a title search alone is not enough.

If disclosure is not given, or is inaccurate or incomplete on a material matter and the buyer would not have signed had they known, the buyer can terminate at any time before settlement, and the seller must refund everything with interest within 14 days. There is no innocent error defence.

And it still does not cover flooding, structural soundness, or previous building and development approvals. The Queensland Government says so expressly.

So what should a buyer actually do?

Order the title search and treat it as the first document rather than the last. Read the administrative advices, not just the encumbrances. Order the registered dealing and the survey plan if anything about the fences or the shape of the block looks odd. Get the clearance certificates, because land tax and rates outrank your title. And on some properties, have a conversation about title insurance, which exists precisely for the gaps described above.

Frequently asked questions

Buying in Queensland and want someone to actually read the dealings rather than tick a box? See our fixed fees or get in touch.

How much does a title search cost in Queensland?

$25.71 for a current title search and $37.88 for a historical search, both statutory fees. Statutory fees are not subject to GST, so that is what you actually pay. An image of the survey plan is $27.56 and a registered dealing such as an easement or mortgage is $50.16. Fees index on 1 July each year.

How long does a Queensland title search take?

Seconds. It is an electronic search of the freehold land register and the result is available immediately.

What is the difference between a current and a historical title search?

A current search shows who owns the property and what is registered against it today. A historical search shows the dealings registered since the automated titles system began in 1994, which is useful when you are tracing what has happened to a property over time.

Does a title search show property boundaries?

No. It gives you the lot on plan description only. There are no dimensions, no bearings and no indication of where anything physically sits. You need the survey plan for the legal boundary, and an identification survey by a cadastral surveyor to know where it is on the ground.

Does a title search show unpaid rates or land tax?

No. Both are charges on the land that can bind a buyer without appearing on the title. Land tax is a first charge that expressly outranks indefeasibility, and overdue council rates are a charge the council is not obliged to register. Clearance certificates are the only protection.

Is a clean title search enough to buy safely?

No. It is necessary and it is not sufficient. Short leases, omitted easements, rates and land tax arrears, flooding, unapproved building work and tree orders can all affect you without appearing on it.

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Statutory warranties in QLD contracts: the body corporate trap that can hand buyers a termination right

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TL;DR: When you sell a lot in a community titles scheme, the contract has a “statutory warranties” section about body corporate matters. It is not covered by the Form 2 seller disclosure or the Form 33/34 body corporate certificate – the seller has to answer it personally, from their own knowledge. Get it wrong, or fob it off with “refer to the disclosure statement,” and you can hand the buyer a clear right to terminate under the BCCMA. Here is how it works, and how to build a process so it never bites.

The section that causes the most last-minute panic

There is a part of the REIQ contract that triggers more eleventh-hour scrambling than almost any other – and most people don’t notice it until a buyer’s solicitor is drafting a termination notice. It is the statutory warranties section for properties in a community titles scheme. If you’re an agent preparing contracts, or a seller about to sign one, this is the bit worth slowing down for.

So what is the statutory warranties section?

When you sell a lot in a community titles scheme, the contract includes warranties – promises – from the seller about the body corporate and the scheme. Things like whether there are known defects in the common property, outstanding levies, disputes, or proposed changes.

The contract even prints a warning about it: a breach of a warranty can lead to a damages claim or termination by the buyer. That is not boilerplate filler. It is a live right sitting in the contract.

Why “refer to the disclosure statement” is the trap

Here is the one that catches people out. When the seller doesn’t know an answer, the temptation is to write “refer to disclosure statement” or just leave it blank. Don’t.

The warranties aren’t disclosure – they’re promises. If something should have been disclosed and wasn’t, a cross-reference doesn’t protect the seller. It does the opposite. A blank answer, or pointing the buyer at the disclosure statement, can hand the buyer a clean right to terminate under the BCCMA (sections 223-224), generally within 14 days of signing the contract. It is not an answer, and it does not discharge the seller’s obligation.

It is not in the Form 2 – or the Form 33/34

This one trips up even experienced operators. Since the disclosure rules changed, sellers provide a Form 2 disclosure statement plus a body corporate certificate – Form 33 for community titles schemes, Form 34 for two-lot schemes. People assume those documents cover the warranty questions. They don’t.

The Form 33 lists prescribed information – levy amounts, fund balances, the community management statement. It does not answer the warranties. Those have to come from the seller’s own knowledge and enquiries. This is different to the old section 206 days: you can’t lean on the certificate to carry this section anymore.

(Worth a read alongside this: our first look at the new Form 2 and 9 traps agents need to know about the new REIQ contracts, and what buyers need to know when they receive a Form 2.)

What the warranties actually cover

In plain terms, the seller is warranting they are not aware of things like:

  • Latent or patent defects in common property or body corporate assets – ongoing building issues, roof leaks, structural problems, even combustible cladding. A latent defect is hidden; a patent one is visible.
  • Liabilities of the body corporate – special levies (including one that has been voted on but not yet invoiced), legal proceedings, or major repair works.
  • Circumstances affecting the body corporate’s affairs – disputes or significant unresolved matters affecting the scheme.
  • A proposal to record a new community management statement (CMS) – changes to by-laws, lot entitlements or common property.
  • Unapproved improvements on common property that benefit the lot – a courtyard fence, pergola, air-con condenser or exclusive-use area that was never formally approved.
  • Outstanding by-law contravention notices – notices about pets, noise, parking or unapproved alterations.
  • Proposed body corporate resolutions – motions about to be voted on that could affect levies, by-laws or works.

If any of these apply and the seller knew – or should have found out – it needs to be disclosed.

Who answers these – and who can’t

This is where sellers often get the wrong end of the stick: your solicitor can’t answer these for you. We obtain the certificates and searches for the Form 2, but the warranties are about your knowledge of the property and the body corporate. We can explain what each question means. We can’t warrant facts on your behalf.

The good news – if you don’t know, you can find out. The seller, or the selling agent, can order a body corporate records inspection (specifically an implied warranty search) through a search agent. We use My Body Corp Report; it is around $300 and takes 3-5 days. That is a small price to close off a termination risk on a whole sale.

Build a process so it never bites

For agents, the fix is a routine, not a last-minute scramble – the same discipline as the rest of your pre-contract checklist:

  • Flag the warranties section with the seller early – at the Form 2 stage, not when a buyer is already on the hook.
  • If the seller can’t answer with confidence, get the implied warranty search ordered before the contract goes out.
  • Answer every question directly – never “refer to disclosure statement,” never blank.
  • Put the answers in the contract and attach a completed implied warranties statement to the contract of sale.

Do that, and the warranties section goes from a settlement-killer to a non-event.

Selling a unit in QLD? Don’t guess this section

Selling a unit, townhouse or apartment in Queensland and not sure how to handle the warranties section? That is exactly the kind of thing we sort out at the contract stage – get in touch with Empire Legal before anything is signed. Our fixed fees are published up front.

Frequently asked questions

What are statutory warranties in a QLD property contract?

When you sell a lot in a community titles scheme, the contract includes warranties (promises) from you about the body corporate and the scheme, covering things like defects in common property, liabilities, disputes and proposed changes. They are separate to the seller disclosure documents and must be answered from your own knowledge.

Does the Form 2 or Form 33 cover the statutory warranties section?

No. The Form 2 disclosure statement and the Form 33/34 body corporate certificate provide prescribed information like levies and fund balances, but they do not answer the warranty questions. Those must be answered by the seller directly, based on their knowledge and enquiries.

What happens if a seller writes “refer to disclosure statement” or answers a warranty incorrectly?

That can hand the buyer a clear right to terminate the contract under the BCCMA (sections 223-224), generally within 14 days of signing, as well as a possible damages claim. A blank answer or a cross-reference is not an answer and does not discharge the seller’s obligation.

Can my solicitor answer the body corporate warranty questions for me?

No. Your solicitor obtains the certificates and searches for the Form 2 and explains what each warranty question means, but the warranties are about your own knowledge of the property and the body corporate, so only you can answer them.

How do I find the answers if I don’t know them?

You or your selling agent can order a body corporate records inspection (an implied warranty search) through a search agent. We use My Body Corp Report, which is around $300 and takes about 3-5 days, and it is designed specifically to help answer these questions.

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Vendor finance in QLD: how it works and what to watch out for

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TL;DR: Vendor finance is when the seller acts as the bank. You pay them directly, in instalments, instead of borrowing from a lender. In Queensland it is almost always an instalment contract under the Property Law Act 2023. That gives buyers real statutory protections, but under section 90 some of those protections do not switch on until the buyer serves a written notice. Meanwhile transfer duty is assessed on the full price from the day you sign, land tax moves to the buyer on possession, and the seller is taxed on the whole capital gain in the year of the contract, not the year they get paid. Get it drafted properly or do not sign.

What is vendor finance and how does it work?

Picture buying a house, but instead of a bank handing over the money, the seller does. You move in, and you pay the seller back over time, usually in regular instalments with interest, until the price is paid off. The seller keeps the title until you have paid in full.

You will also hear it called seller finance, vendor terms, owner finance or a terms contract. Same idea: the person selling the property is also the one financing it.

It is not the norm. Most people buy with a bank loan. But vendor finance turns up when a buyer cannot get traditional finance, or when a seller wants to widen the pool of people who can say yes.

Why would a seller offer vendor finance?

A few reasons. The property might be tricky to sell the usual way. The seller might prefer earning interest on the sale to taking a lump sum. Or they simply want to get a deal across the line with a buyer the banks have knocked back.

For the buyer the pitch is simple: you get into a home without jumping through the usual lending hoops, often with a smaller deposit. For someone self-employed, new to the country or rebuilding credit, that can be a genuine opportunity.

The catch is that you are trusting an individual, not a regulated lender. The interest rate is usually higher than a bank’s, the terms are tighter, and the consequences of missing a payment are more serious than a polite letter. The deal is only as good as the contract behind it.

Is vendor finance the same as an instalment contract?

In Queensland, nearly always. Section 89 of the Property Law Act 2023 defines an instalment contract as a contract for the sale of land where the buyer is bound to make one or more payments of the purchase price by instalment, other than a deposit, and is not entitled to a transfer of title in exchange for those payments.

The word doing the work is deposit. Under section 87 a deposit means a sum of not more than the prescribed percentage of the price, refundable if the seller breaches. The prescribed percentage is 10%, or 20% for a proposed lot. Push the deposit past that line, or make it non-refundable, and it stops being a deposit and starts being an instalment. That is how ordinary-looking contracts become instalment contracts by accident. We have set out the mechanics in detail in our guide to instalment contracts in QLD.

What protections does a buyer get under an instalment contract?

Four that matter, and they are genuinely strong:

The seller cannot terminate the moment you fall behind. Under section 91 the seller must give you a notice in the approved form and wait 30 days. Pay the outstanding amount inside those 30 days and the seller’s right to terminate ends, and you are treated as never having been in default.

The seller cannot sell or mortgage the land behind your back. Section 92 requires your consent, and consent only counts if the seller has told you the terms first and you have said yes to those terms in writing. Break that rule and the contract is voidable by you before settlement, and you can recover your deposit and instalments as a debt.

You can caveat the title. Section 93 lets you lodge a caveat forbidding registration of any dealing until settlement. It is a specific statutory caveat, not the ordinary kind. If you want the background, see our explainer on caveats in Queensland.

You can force the transfer. Under section 94, a buyer who is not in default can give the seller notice requiring transfer on a stated day in exchange for the balance owing. The notice has to make time of the essence and be given at least three months ahead.

Have your buyer protections actually started yet?

This is the part almost nobody mentions, and it is the single most important thing on this page.

Section 90 says that where a contract may, at the buyer’s election, be performed in a way that would make it an instalment contract, the contract is not an instalment contract unless and until the buyer gives the seller a notice electing to perform it that way.

Read that again. If your contract binds you to pay by instalments, section 89 applies and you are protected from the start. But if the contract merely gives you the option of paying that way, you get none of the section 91 to 94 protections until you serve that notice. No 30 day grace period. No caveat right. No restriction on the seller mortgaging the property.

Plenty of buyers assume the protections are automatic because that is how the old Property Law Act 1974 worked. It was repealed on 1 August 2025. If you are in a vendor finance arrangement right now, the question to ask your solicitor today is whether that notice has been served.

When is stamp duty payable on a vendor finance deal?

Immediately, on the full price, years before you own anything.

Transfer duty attaches to the agreement, not the transfer. Under the Duties Act 2001 the liability arises when the agreement is made, and the dutiable value is the consideration or the unencumbered value if that is higher. Nothing about the deferred title reduces it or spreads it across the instalments. The documents have to be lodged within 30 days of the liability date.

So a buyer paying off a $700,000 house over eight years owes duty on $700,000 in the first month, while still holding no title. Work out the number before you sign with our QLD stamp duty calculator, and read how transfer duty actually works if the timing surprises you.

And do not plan on deferring it. Queensland Revenue Office Public Ruling DA019.1.5 says an extension of time to lodge will not be granted where the condition is part of an arrangement to defer duty, and it names contracts conditional on payment of the purchase money as an example.

Who pays land tax and rates before the title transfers?

This one catches people, because the two answers point in opposite directions.

Land tax follows possession. Section 11 of the Land Tax Act 2010 says that where an agreement has been made for the sale of land, the buyer is taken to be the owner as soon as the buyer is in possession, and it applies whether or not the agreement has been completed. So the buyer can pick up a land tax liability years before the title is in their name, and land tax is assessed at midnight on 30 June. Our QLD land tax guide covers the thresholds.

Council rates generally follow the title. The council will usually still look to the registered owner, which is the seller. That makes rates a contract problem rather than a statutory one, and it needs to be dealt with expressly in the drafting.

Does a seller need a credit licence to offer vendor finance?

Possibly, and getting this wrong is the most expensive mistake on this page.

Section 10 of the National Credit Code treats an instalment land contract as the provision of credit, with the seller as the credit provider. Whether the Code actually bites turns on section 5, and in practice on one limb: whether the credit is provided in the course of a business of providing credit, or as part of or incidentally to another business.

ASIC’s Regulatory Guide 203 gives the example of a private landowner selling a single parcel by instalment contract and says they are unlikely to be carrying on a business of providing credit. But it also says that a landowner who subdivides and sells several parcels this way is more likely to be. And section 13 presumes the Code applies unless the contrary is established, so the onus sits with the seller.

If you land on the wrong side of it, section 29 of the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 carries a civil penalty of 5,000 penalty units. At the Commonwealth penalty unit of $364 from 1 July 2026, that is a maximum of roughly $1.82 million for an individual. This is not a corner to cut, and it is exactly why the agreement needs proper drafting. See our loan agreements service.

When does the seller pay capital gains tax?

In the year of the contract, not the year the money arrives.

Under section 104-10 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, CGT event A1 happens when you enter into the contract for the disposal. Taxation Determination TD 94/89 confirms the gain belongs to the year the contract was made, and that a seller is not required to return it until settlement actually occurs, at which point the assessment for that earlier year may need to be amended.

On a ten year instalment contract that means going back and amending a decade-old assessment, at that year’s rates and thresholds, with interest exposure if you are slow about it. The whole gain lands in one early year while the cash trickles in over ten. Model it first with our capital gains tax calculator, and get advice from your accountant before you agree to anything.

Do you still need a seller disclosure statement?

Yes. There is no vendor finance exception.

Since 1 August 2025, section 99 of the Property Law Act 2023 requires a seller to give the buyer a disclosure statement in the approved form, the Form 2, together with the prescribed certificates, before the buyer signs. The exceptions in section 100 cover related parties, government buyers, court orders, transmissions on death and very high value sales. An instalment contract is not among them.

Get it wrong and the buyer may have a termination right. See our seller’s disclosure service and what the Form 2 means for buyers.

Is rent to buy the same as vendor finance?

Not quite, and the difference matters. Under a rent to buy or rent to own arrangement you are usually a tenant paying rent, with an option to purchase later at an agreed price. Under vendor finance you are a buyer under a contract of sale from day one, paying down a purchase price.

The labels get used loosely and the legal consequences are completely different: who can evict you, what happens to the money you have already paid, whether you have any interest in the land at all. If someone is offering you a rent to buy deal, have the paperwork read before you hand over anything. An option structure has its own rules, which we cover in our guide to put and call options in QLD.

How do you protect yourself before you sign?

Whether you are the buyer or the seller, the rule is the same: get advice before you sign, not after.

For buyers, that means knowing the interest rate, the payment schedule, what happens if you fall behind, when and how you actually get the title, and whether the section 90 notice needs serving. For sellers, it means a contract that protects you if the buyer stops paying, a clear position on the credit licence question, and an accountant’s view on the CGT timing before you commit.

This is what our free pre-contract review is for. Send us the paperwork before you commit and we will tell you straight whether it stacks up. Vendor finance sits outside a standard conveyance, so it is quoted separately rather than at our standard fixed conveyancing fees.

Frequently asked questions

Is vendor finance legal in Queensland?

Yes. These arrangements are legal, and in Queensland they are usually instalment contracts governed by Part 7 Division 3 of the Property Law Act 2023. The rules apply despite any agreement to the contrary, so the parties cannot contract out of them.

What makes a contract an instalment contract in QLD?

The buyer being bound to pay the price in instalments, other than a deposit, without being entitled to a transfer of title in exchange. A deposit is capped at 10% of the price, or 20% for a proposed lot, and must be refundable if the seller breaches. Exceed that cap or make it non-refundable and the payments become instalments.

What happens if I miss a payment under vendor finance?

If the contract is an instalment contract, the seller cannot terminate for a missed instalment until 30 days after giving you a notice in the approved form. Pay within those 30 days and the seller’s right to terminate ends. Outside that regime, the ordinary contractual default provisions apply, which are far less forgiving.

Can a vendor finance buyer lodge a caveat?

Yes, a buyer under an instalment contract can lodge a caveat under section 93 forbidding registration of any dealing until settlement. It can be removed with the buyer’s consent, if the contract ends, or on other grounds shown to the registrar or the court.

Do you pay stamp duty twice on vendor finance?

No. Duty is assessed once, on the agreement, when it is made. The later transfer of title gives effect to the same dutiable transaction. The trap is not paying twice, it is paying the full amount years before you get the title.

Do I need a solicitor for a vendor finance deal?

Yes, and both sides need their own. Empire Legal never acts for both the buyer and the seller in the same transaction. Between the section 90 election, duty timing, land tax, seller disclosure, the credit licence question and CGT, this is not a deal to do on a handshake.

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Do I really need a loan agreement?

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TLDR: If money’s changing hands and you’d want it back, you need a loan agreement. A verbal loan can be legally valid, but proving it is the hard part – and that’s exactly when arguments happen. A written loan agreement sets the terms, makes the loan enforceable, and saves everyone a world of pain if things go wrong. Here’s when you need one and what it should cover.

In Queensland, people lend money for all sorts of reasons – a loan to a business partner, money fronted to a mate, a director lending to their own company, a vendor finance arrangement on a sale. The amounts can be serious. The paperwork, more often than not, is non-existent.

So do you actually need a loan agreement? Let’s break it down.

Is a verbal loan even legal?

Yes – a verbal loan can be a legally binding contract. The catch is enforcement. If the borrower says “that was a gift” or “we agreed I’d pay it back next year, not now”, how do you prove otherwise? Text messages and bank records help, but they’re a weak substitute for a clear written agreement. When money’s on the line, “legally valid but impossible to prove” isn’t a position you want to be in.

What happens without a loan agreement

When there’s nothing in writing, you’re exposed to some classic problems:

  • Disputes over the terms. Was there interest? When was it due? Nobody can agree, because nobody wrote it down.
  • The “it was a gift” defence. Without proof it was a loan, you may struggle to get your money back at all.
  • No security. If you didn’t document security over an asset, you’re an unsecured creditor – last in line if the borrower goes under.
  • Tax and accounting headaches. For business and related-party loans, your accountant will want it documented properly.

When you definitely need one

You should get a written loan agreement when:

  • The amount is significant enough that losing it would hurt.
  • The loan is between a business and its directors or shareholders, or between related companies.
  • You want the loan secured against property or another asset.
  • It’s a vendor finance or deferred-payment arrangement.
  • The repayment terms are anything more complex than “pay me back whenever”.

Honestly, the bar is low. If you’d be upset not to get the money back, write it down.

What a loan agreement should cover

A solid agreement spells out the loan amount, whether interest applies and at what rate, the repayment schedule (or that it’s repayable on demand), what counts as a default and what happens then, and whether the loan is secured. For secured loans, that usually means a registered mortgage or other security documented alongside the agreement.

Get it drafted properly

You can find templates online, but a generic template won’t reflect your situation – and a poorly drafted agreement can be worse than none at all. We’re a Queensland law firm, so your agreement is drawn up by real solicitors who’ll make sure it’s clear and enforceable.

At the time of publishing this article, a standalone loan agreement is $2,000, or $2,200 plus lodgement fees if you want it secured with a registered mortgage. Already been handed an agreement to sign? We’ll review it for $1,200 to $1,500 depending on length and complexity, and tell you in plain English what you’re agreeing to.

Talk to us about a loan agreement – it’s a small cost for a lot of peace of mind. Lending to a family member? See our guide on lending money to family.

Do I need a loan agreement: FAQs

Is a verbal loan agreement legally binding in Australia? It can be, but it’s very hard to prove. A written agreement removes the doubt about the terms and that the money was a loan, not a gift.

What happens if there’s no loan agreement and the borrower won’t pay? You can still try to recover the money, but without written terms you’re relying on bank records, messages and recollections – which makes it slower, harder and more expensive. Many disputes come down to “loan or gift”, and that’s exactly what a written agreement settles.

Can I just use a free template online? You can, but a generic template may not suit your situation and a badly drafted one can cause more problems than it solves. For anything significant, it’s worth having a solicitor draft or review it.

Do business or director loans need a written agreement? For tax, accounting and to avoid disputes, yes – related-party and director loans should always be documented properly.

How much does a loan agreement cost? A standalone loan agreement is $2,000, a mortgage-linked agreement is $2,200 plus lodgement fees, and advice on an existing agreement is $1,200 to $1,500 depending on complexity.

Can you act for both the lender and the borrower? No – we only act for one party to avoid any conflict of interest. The other side should get their own independent advice.

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Lending money to family? Get it in writing

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TLDR: Across Queensland, lending money to family is one of the kindest things you can do – and one of the easiest ways to end up in an awkward (or expensive) spot. A simple loan agreement spells out the terms, protects your money, and keeps the relationship intact. It also settles the big question: is this a gift or a loan? Here’s what to think about before you transfer a cent.

Bank of Mum and Dad is one of the biggest lenders in the country. Parents helping kids into a first home, a loan to a sibling starting a business, a hand-up to a relative going through a rough patch – it happens in Queensland families every day.

And most of the time it’s done on trust. No paperwork, just love and a bank transfer. Which is lovely, right up until someone forgets the details, a relationship changes, or a relative’s marriage breaks down and suddenly your money is part of someone else’s property settlement.

Getting it in writing isn’t cold or distrustful. It’s the opposite – it protects everyone.

Why a family loan agreement is worth it

A written agreement does a few important jobs:

  • It proves the money was a loan, not a gift. This is the big one (more below).
  • It sets clear expectations. How much, when it’s repaid, whether there’s interest. No “I thought you meant…” arguments later.
  • It protects your money if things change. If your child separates from a partner, a documented loan can help show the money should come back to you rather than be split.
  • It protects the relationship. Funny how being crystal clear upfront saves a lot of resentment down the track.

The gift vs loan trap

Here’s the mistake that catches people out. If you give your kids money and don’t document it, the law may treat it as a gift – meaning you have no right to get it back, and it could be carved up in a family law dispute or counted oddly in your estate.

If it’s genuinely a loan, you need to be able to show that: a written agreement, a repayment expectation, ideally some record of repayments. If it’s genuinely a gift, that’s fine too – but document that, so it’s clear in your estate and nobody’s fighting about it later.

The point isn’t which one you choose. It’s that you decide, write it down, and avoid the costly grey area. This ties straight into estate planning, too – if you’ve gifted or loaned money to one child and not the others, your will should account for it. Our wills and estates team can help.

Mortgage or no mortgage?

For bigger amounts – like helping with a house deposit – some families register a mortgage over the property so the loan is secured. If the loan isn’t repaid, you have a claim against the property itself. For smaller amounts, a standalone agreement without a mortgage usually does the job. We can talk you through which makes sense.

What goes in a family loan agreement

A good one covers the loan amount, whether interest applies, the repayment schedule (or that it’s repayable on demand), what happens on default, and whether it’s secured. We keep them clear and readable – no impenetrable legalese.

How we can help

We draft family loan agreements all the time, and we do it in plain English. A standalone loan agreement is $2,000, or $2,200 plus lodgement fees if you want it secured with a registered mortgage. We only ever act for one side, so if we’re acting for you as the lender, your family member should get their own quick independent advice – no awkward conflict.

Thinking about lending to family? Talk to us about a loan agreement and do it properly. Not sure you even need one? Read do I really need a loan agreement?

Lending money to family: FAQs

Should I charge my child interest on a family loan? You don’t have to – many family loans are interest-free. The key is to write down whatever you decide so everyone’s clear. There can be tax considerations for larger or interest-bearing loans, so it’s worth a quick chat with your accountant too.

Is a family loan safe if my child gets divorced? A properly documented loan is far more likely to be recognised in a family law settlement than an undocumented “gift”. It’s one of the main reasons parents put these agreements in place.

Is it a gift or a loan? Whichever you intend – just document it. An undocumented transfer is often treated as a gift, meaning you can’t get it back. If you want repayment, you need a loan agreement showing that.

Do family loans need to be in writing to be legal? A verbal loan can be legally valid, but it’s very hard to prove. Writing removes the doubt.

Can Empire Legal act for both me and my family member? No – we only act for one party to avoid any conflict of interest. The other person should get their own independent advice.

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Buying commercial property in QLD: how it’s different from buying a house

If you’ve bought a home before, you might think buying a shop, warehouse or office is just the same drill with a bigger price tag. It isn’t. Commercial property plays by different rules – different contract, different risks, and a lot more digging before you sign. Get it wrong and the surprises are expensive. Here’s what changes when you step up from residential to commercial in Queensland.

TLDR

  • Commercial property uses a different contract to the standard residential one, with fewer built-in protections for the buyer.
  • There’s usually no cooling-off period and often no standard finance or building-and-pest safety nets – you negotiate your own conditions.
  • GST is in play on most commercial deals (it usually isn’t on a home), so the price and contract need to handle it properly.
  • Due diligence is bigger: leases, tenants, zoning, outgoings, environmental issues and building compliance all need checking.
  • If the property is leased, you’re buying the tenants and their leases too – so the lease terms can make or break the deal.
  • Empire Legal handles commercial purchases start to finish. Call 07 3088 7675.

The contract is a different animal

Residential purchases in Queensland run on a familiar standard contract with a built-in cooling-off period and the usual finance and building-and-pest conditions. Commercial is looser. Contracts are often tailored, the standard consumer protections may not apply, and there’s typically no cooling-off period to fall back on.

That means the conditions you’d normally take for granted – time to sort finance, a building inspection, a way out if something’s off – aren’t automatic. You have to negotiate them into the contract before you sign. Miss one and you could be locked in with no escape.

GST: the big one buyers forget

Here’s a curveball that catches first-time commercial buyers. Most residential sales don’t involve GST. Most commercial sales do.

That changes the maths. Depending on how the deal is structured, GST might be added on top of the price, or the sale might qualify as a “going concern” (commonly where a leased, operating business premises is sold) and be GST-free if the contract is set up correctly. Get the wording wrong and you could be hit with an unexpected 10% – or a fight with the ATO. It’s worth reading our dedicated guide on GST and commercial property. (Don’t confuse this with residential GST withholding, which is a different beast entirely.)

Due diligence goes up a level

With a home, due diligence is mostly the contract, title searches and a building-and-pest. Commercial is broader and the stakes are higher:

Leases and tenants. If the property is tenanted, you’re buying the leases. Who are the tenants, what rent do they pay, when do the leases end, are there options to renew, and who’s responsible for outgoings? A great-looking yield can unravel if a key tenant is about to walk.

Zoning and permitted use. Can the property legally be used the way you intend? Council zoning and approvals decide that, and changing use isn’t always possible.

Outgoings. Rates, land tax, insurance, body corporate (for strata commercial) and maintenance – work out what you’re really up for, not just the headline rent.

Building compliance and environment. Fire safety, disability access, and for industrial sites, contamination history. These can be costly to fix.

You can see why commercial due diligence takes longer and why getting a solicitor involved early matters.

Tenanted vs vacant – it changes everything

Buying with tenants in place (an investment) is a different exercise to buying vacant (to occupy yourself). With tenants, the leases are the asset – their strength drives the value and the risk. Vacant, you’re focused on whether you can use and fit out the place for your own purposes. Be crystal clear which one you’re doing before you make an offer, because the questions you need answered are completely different.

So what’s the takeaway?

Commercial property can be a brilliant investment or the perfect home for your business. But it rewards homework and punishes assumptions. Don’t bring residential instincts to a commercial deal. Get the contract conditions right, sort the GST position early, and dig properly into the leases and compliance before you commit.

Frequently asked questions

Is buying commercial property different from buying a house in QLD? Yes, significantly. Commercial uses a different, often tailored contract with fewer built-in buyer protections, usually no cooling-off period, GST implications, and far broader due diligence covering leases, zoning, outgoings and compliance.

Is there a cooling-off period on commercial property in Queensland? Generally no. The statutory cooling-off period that applies to residential contracts doesn’t apply to most commercial purchases, so you’re typically bound once the contract is signed.

Do I pay GST when buying commercial property? Usually GST applies to commercial property, unlike most residential sales. In some cases the sale can be GST-free as a “going concern” if the contract is set up correctly. The structure matters, so get advice early.

What is a “going concern” in a commercial sale? It generally refers to selling a property along with the operating business or lease in place, so it can continue running. If the contract qualifies and is worded correctly, the sale may be GST-free. Getting this right is a job for your solicitor and accountant.

What due diligence should I do on commercial property? Check the leases and tenants, zoning and permitted use, outgoings (rates, land tax, insurance, body corporate), building and fire-safety compliance, and any environmental or contamination issues – on top of the usual title searches.

What should I check if the property has tenants? Review every lease: who the tenants are, the rent, lease expiry dates, renewal options, and who pays outgoings. When you buy a tenanted property you’re buying the leases, so their terms directly affect the value and risk.

Do I need a solicitor to buy commercial property in QLD? Strongly recommended. Commercial deals carry more legal and financial risk, fewer automatic protections, and complex due diligence. A solicitor negotiates your contract conditions and protects you before you’re locked in.

How Empire Legal helps

We act for buyers of commercial property across Queensland – shops, offices, warehouses, industrial sites and leased investments. We negotiate your contract conditions, sort the GST position with you and your accountant, run the due diligence, review the leases, and get you safely to settlement.

Call 07 3088 7675 or email info@empirelegal.com.au, Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm. Learn more about our commercial conveyancing service.

This article is general information only and isn’t legal, financial or tax advice.

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Retirement villages in Queensland: what to check before you sign the contract

The short version:

  • A retirement village isn’t a normal home purchase. In QLD you’re usually buying the right to live there, not the land or the title.
  • The fees that bite are the exit fees (deferred management fees), and they can swallow a big chunk of your money when you leave.
  • You’re entitled to a Prospective Costs Document and at least 21 days to consider it before you sign, plus a cooling-off period after. Use that time to get advice.
  • A retirement village and an over-50s land lease community are two completely different things legally. Don’t assume they’re the same.
  • Get a solicitor to read the contract before you sign, not after.

So you’ve found a lovely little villa in a retirement village. Manicured gardens, a bowls green, friendly neighbours, and someone else mowing the lawn. Champagne poppin’ reality, right?

Here’s the bit nobody puts in the glossy brochure: the contract you sign is nothing like a normal property contract. It’s long, it’s written in the operator’s favour, and the real cost often isn’t what you pay to move in – it’s what you pay to leave.

If you’re thinking about a retirement village anywhere in Queensland, from Brisbane to the Gold Coast and beyond, here’s what actually matters before you sign anything.

What you’re actually buying in a Queensland retirement village

This trips a lot of people up. With a standard home, you buy the land and the house, your name goes on the title, and it’s yours to keep, sell, or pass on however you like.

A retirement village is usually a different animal. In most QLD villages you’re buying the right to live in the unit – a lease or a licence to occupy – under the Retirement Villages Act 1999. The operator keeps the underlying ownership. That one fact changes everything: how you exit, who controls the resale, how long your money is tied up, and how much of it you get back.

It’s not necessarily a bad deal. Plenty of people love village life and never look back. But it does mean you can’t treat it like a regular purchase, and a standard contract review won’t cut it. You need someone who reads these specific agreements for a living.

Retirement village exit fees and deferred management fees, explained

Moving in is the cheap part. Leaving is where it hurts, and it’s the number one thing people wish they’d understood earlier.

Most villages charge an exit fee, usually called a deferred management fee, or DMF. It builds up for every year you live there – often a few percent a year, capped at somewhere around 30 to 35 percent. You don’t pay it upfront. It’s quietly deducted from your money when you leave, which is exactly why it’s so easy to underestimate when you’re signing.

Here’s the catch that costs people the most: in some contracts the DMF is calculated on what you paid going in, and in others it’s calculated on the resale price. If the unit has gone up in value, a fee based on the resale price can be thousands more than you expected. Two villages can advertise the “same” 35 percent fee and leave you with very different amounts in your pocket.

This is the single biggest reason to get the contract reviewed before you sign. The DMF isn’t hidden, exactly – it’s just buried in pages of dense contract that most people skim. A solicitor’s job is to dig it out and turn it into a real dollar figure so you know what you’re agreeing to.

The other costs: capital gains, reinstatement and ongoing charges

The exit fee isn’t the end of it. A few other costs tend to surface when you leave, and they add up:

A share of the capital gain. Some contracts let the operator take a slice of any increase in the unit’s value. So even if your unit is worth more, you might not pocket all of that capital growth.

Reinstatement or refurbishment costs. You may be on the hook to get the unit back to a saleable condition – new carpet, repaint, the lot – before the next resident moves in.

Ongoing general services charges. These cover maintenance, management and shared facilities. The catch is they can keep running after you’ve left, often for up to 90 days or until the unit resells, and you can be liable for your share that whole time.

Put the DMF, the capital gain share, reinstatement and ongoing charges together and it’s not unusual to walk away with a good deal less than you put in. That’s not a reason to avoid villages – it’s a reason to go in with your eyes open and the numbers in front of you.

Retirement village vs land lease community in QLD: what’s the difference?

This is the one people get wrong constantly, so let’s clear it up – because the legal regime, and your money, depend entirely on which one you’re looking at.

A retirement village runs under the Retirement Villages Act 1999. You buy a right to reside, the operator owns the underlying property, and you’ll usually face the exit and deferred management fees we just covered.

An over-50s land lease community – you’ll see them marketed as lifestyle, resort or “over 50s” communities – runs under the Manufactured Homes (Residential Parks) Act 1994. Here it’s flipped: you actually own your home, but you lease the land underneath it and pay ongoing site rent. Many of these charge no exit fees or deferred management fees at all, and some residents qualify for Commonwealth rent assistance.

Two different Acts, two different cost pictures, two very different exit positions. Same friendly sales energy on the brochure. Always confirm which one you’re actually signing into, because everything from your weekly costs to what your estate gets back hinges on it.

Your 21-day window (and why pre-contract advice matters)

Here’s some good news. Before you sign a residence contract, the operator has to give you a Prospective Costs Document setting out the fees, and you’re entitled to at least 21 days to consider it. There’s also a cooling-off period after you sign (your solicitor can confirm the current length).

That window exists for a reason. Use it. Don’t let a “this villa won’t last the weekend” sales push rush you into signing on the spot. Twenty-one days is plenty of time to have a solicitor read the contract, explain the exit fees in plain English, and flag anything that looks off before you commit a cent. This is exactly the kind of upfront, pre-contract advice that saves people from nasty surprises years down the track.

Red flags to look for before you sign a retirement village contract

A few things that should make you slow down and ask questions:

The DMF is calculated on resale value rather than your ingoing price. The operator takes a share of capital gains on top of the exit fee. You’re liable for general services charges for a long stretch after you leave. The reinstatement obligations are vague or open-ended. You’re being pushed to sign before your 21 days are up. Or the salesperson can’t clearly tell you, in dollars, what you’d get back if you left after five years.

None of these automatically mean it’s a bad village. They mean it’s a contract worth reading properly – with help.

How Empire Legal reviews your retirement village contract

This is squarely our world. We read the contract before you sign, translate the fees into real numbers, and tell you straight what you’re getting into – no jargon, no “pursuant to clause 4.2.”

It’s the same upfront, pre-contract approach we take with every property matter: spot the problems early, while you can still do something about them. Whether it’s a retirement village under the Retirement Villages Act or a land lease community under the Manufactured Homes Act, we’ll make sure you know exactly what you’re signing and what it’ll cost you to leave one day. If you’re also sorting out your estate planning, it’s worth getting your power of attorney in order at the same time.

Give us a yell before you sign, not after. We’re here 9 to 5, Monday to Friday.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a solicitor to buy into a retirement village in QLD?

You’re not legally forced to, but it’s strongly recommended. These contracts are complex and weighted towards the operator, and the exit fees alone can cost tens of thousands. Having a solicitor review it before you sign is cheap insurance.

What is a deferred management fee?

It’s an exit fee that builds up the longer you live in the village – usually a percentage per year, capped at around 30 to 35 percent. You don’t pay it upfront; it’s deducted when you leave. It’s often the single biggest cost of village living.

How is a retirement village exit fee calculated in Queensland?

It depends on the contract. Some calculate the deferred management fee on your ingoing price (what you paid), others on the resale price. Resale-based fees can cost thousands more if the unit has gone up in value. Always check which method your contract uses.

How long do I have to consider a retirement village contract?

The operator must give you a Prospective Costs Document, and you’re entitled to at least 21 days to consider it before entering the residence contract. There’s also a cooling-off period after signing. Use this time to get legal advice.

Is a land lease community the same as a retirement village?

No. A retirement village runs under the Retirement Villages Act 1999, where you buy a right to reside. An over-50s land lease community runs under the Manufactured Homes (Residential Parks) Act 1994, where you own your home but lease the land and pay site rent. The costs and exit terms are very different.

Can Empire Legal review my retirement village or land lease contract?

Yes. We review the contract before you sign, explain the fees in plain English, and flag anything risky. Get in touch before you commit – we’re open 9 to 5, Monday to Friday.

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The information on this website is general in nature and does not take into account your personal circumstances. It is not legal advice and should not be relied on as legal advice. Empire Legal is a Queensland law practice and this website refers to Queensland law, which changes. For advice on your situation contact us, or read the full disclaimer.

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